And… if you haven’t started reading it already, you must, must, must check out Minor Acts of Heroism. It’s not yaoi (although it’s definitely “yaoi-aware”)—it’s just a really good time. Good art and great writing with engaging, well defined characters and truly witty dialogue. Just go read it. You won’t be disappointed. 🙂

We are now at $112 towards our next bonus page. Special thanks to long-time supporters John H. & Brian d. (who makes their 2nd donation in a row!) and a warm welcome and grateful bow to new supporters Katie P. & Jennifer B. for their generous donations over the last few days.

Big hugs go out to long-time friends Michael M, who made their second $25 donation to Artifice, Andrew T. who with their $25 donation has made their fourth super-generous donation to Artifice in a row (!) and Larisa V., who has now just made their twelfth $25 donation to Artifice! HOLY CATS AND DOGS!

Thank you all so much! With the holidays and an extra busy work schedule, I’ve found myself feeling a bit… tuckered out at times. Your generous support, though, is such a huge morale booster, that I find energy I didn’t even know I had to get these pages out to you. It really does make a huge difference in helping me get out this comic. 🙂

And next time, we’re back with Jeff and Deacon on Da Vinci Four. Hope to see you all there!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 😀

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! Edit 12/26/11, 11:00 A.M.: You are UNSTOPPABLE! We have now reached the donation target so there will be a BONUS PAGE (Page 62!) this Wednesday, December 28th! I hope you see you there! 😀

If you particularly enjoy any of these pages and use Facebook, please click the Like button on that page. It’s useful to know what’s working and it helps me get the word out!

I’m a long time reader of MAOH, so seeing the plug here is EXCITING!!! <3

Love the fanart too, so cute! *0* <3 <3 <3

And man… Deacon's face in the last panel is powerful. It's like he loses his fear of the doc when it comes down to the fact that he cared enough for Jeff to kill to save his life. That's pretty interesting.

Smug look she has. She knew. SHE KNEW! She’s just doing her job and making him say it. I am wondering. Obviously Deacon going this far is, from a scientific stand point, amazing.

He’s feeling and acting in ways that lead one to believe that his programing has evolved in unforeseen ways. Is this a good thing because it means his programing/programers are awesome or is this a bad thing because now he indeed acting in ways that would lead to a debate on how ‘human’ this inhuman machine is now. Is he going to be taken a part for science or taken apart as a defect?

Of course she already knew. Instead of being “surprised” at how “human” he is, the way I see it is that the humans in this comic are just trying to keep control.

Superjenny

Ohh… Possessive Deacon is possessive… And damn sexy.

wasEnkidu

Ooohh…do I see a glint of defiance in those green eyes? He’s getting angry just thinking about it again. So far he’s felt love and then anger strong enough to kill. We have to assume from the way he beat Jeff around back on day 3 that he’s never felt much emotion whdn killing. Maybe satisfaction over doing his job or a kind of pleasure. (Which scarily fits the idea that he’s got the emotional maturity of a small child. Empathy is a TRAINED behavior) But he killed out of desperation here. Out of anger that they were going to hurt his Jeff who doesn’t need to die and is the only person Deacon has ever connected with. They made him mad enough to kill! Isn’t he hard-wired against that?? O.o

thisboybroken

YEA!!!!!

Aikka

Love the page -as always ^^”-

As far as Maven is scary here etc. it’s the last 2 panels with Deacon that i’m just staring at.

And what he says probably wil be my next status :> [Just now i have a link to my christmas fanart there so i want to keep it for a while…”XD]

Also, a little off-topic, you know what i dreamed about today? As far as the whole dream was about something else -which i don’t really remember now anyway- there was a moment in it, when i woke up (not for real, just in that dream), went to check the new page here, and discovered that for christmas you gave us more new pages XDD but that was just a dream ;-;

And Yay my fanart ^^ even if i knew it will be posted today i’m really happy to see it here ^^

Also i’m finally credited by “Aikka” not my DA name… i always wanted to ask you to change it but just kept forgetting to do it “XD So, not sure why you changed it now but thanks anyway ^_^”

Thank you, Aikka. And happy to change your name. Why did I do it? It just seemed more consistent, especially seeing as you are such an awesome presence in the comments. 🙂

Aikka

Hehe, thank you! ^-^’

eleutherios

It’s something you wouldn’t understand, Mavzilla. It’s called love. A profound insight into one of the greatest mysteries of the human condition unfolding before your eyes, yet all you can do is shout at it and demand answers.

Happy holidays to you too, KBatty! Thank you very much for your thoughtful comments and support. I’m very happy to have you as a reader. 🙂

SteveMcSheffrey

Is she using the power of her vagina to make Deacon talk? It would work on me, especially if there were some threat of having to see it with the protective skirt…

fujoshifanatic

I love this page! Maven’s death glare and victory sneer in panels one and two are epic! But I love most of all the transition of emotion on Deacon’s face in the last two panels. That look of pain is so profound and yet, in the moment before the last panel, you can just hear him think to himself, “No regrets,” before he acquires that look of resolved determination and starts to recount the events of the retrieval mission.

Nicely done, and while I enjoy Maven and Deacon’s interactions, I am excited to be returning to Da Vinci Four! Hopefully they’ll get to enjoy just a liiittle more happiness before shit gets real?

At any rate, Merry Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus/whatever it is you celebrate to Alex, Winona, and all the Artifice fans who make this such a great place to visit! 😀

damnn, he’s all “no one can hurt jeff. my jeff. >:|” hahahaha yes Deacon SHOW HER WHO’S UR MAN >:O 😀 on a side note, maven’s a little close there. XD i mean if she wanted to look down on him, she’s doing a very thorough job. XP

yellowrock

I like how she glares him into submission. It’s like she’s using invisible eye lasers or something. The terrified look on his face is nice too. :3

I usually just lurk, but after seeing this page I had to comment! I definitely think the first panel should be a print or a banner or something. It is simply amazing. I just love the expressions, especially “Mavzilla” staring down at Deacon. It’s simply hilarious.

“Getting off”? In the sense that she’s getting satisfaction and perhaps enjoying it on a personal level rather than a detached professional one, but Maven’s no dominatrix. Just very good at what she does, and believing in a little self-indulgence when she knows– or thinks she knows– the answer she wants is coming.

akagenki

I wouldn’t say she’s a dominatrix but I can’t imagine she would have a more satisfied look on her face after an orgasm. Whether it’s just a demented mental fulfillment or sexual as well, she gets off on it.

Hmm. They should always be green. Are you seeing pages where they are not?

crimsonkiss22

Well, I imagine our visit to Da Vinci Four this time will be less than sexy. Although, Deacon murdering a retrieval team is its own kind of sexiness.

Hrm, Maven is smiling rather meanly when Deacon looks away from her. Me thinks she is quite pleased when he is bowing down to her authority. Granted, that could just be because that’s what he’s designed to do, and she’s glad to see that Deacon can’t deny his programming for long. Everything she’s heard so far has only been Deacon ignoring his orders and acting *shudder* human.

Great page! Love Deacon’s face in the last panel! He isn’t afraid of you Maven. >:|

I think she’s really cranky because it’s been a long day. Personally I’d be a total jerk if I didn’t get a break and/or food after a long day. I think her angry reactions are normal…unless, she is a Fembot. *gasp*

ithilloke

Love the colour change in the eyes! I’d watch myself if I were her…

Jennie Yates

Decon really is one BAMF.

Ryn

as of page 60, i no longer like that woman. though she’s not at Roy chewing proportions yet. *cuddles D*

Yes, now we get to see Deacon kicking some ass in the name of love! The best kind of carnage is straight from the heart! XD

Seriously though, excited to go back to Da Vinci Four– besides, the Maven hatred in the comments is getting a little excessive– and see what happened to Jeff. And Merry Christmas Alex, Winona, and everybody~

the longer this drags out, the more worried I become. starting to make me wonder if she’s gonna kill time grilling him for her own intellectual benefit- then when he needs a charge, let him shut down. It would end any near-future problems effectively (while still allowing them to keep him for future study), and they could do whatever they wanted with Jeff. Sad-face 🙁 END THE SUSPEEEEENSE :(:(:(

Kittery Brazelton

Little does Dr. Mavin know that she’s made the fatal mistake of positioning herself panel 2 to be on the receiving end of Deacon’s perfect Dragon Punch.

Am going to hazard she really doesn’t believe his love for Jeff. Mistake.

Loretta Olianti

This Doctor is just stupid, or at least not qualified. Whether your patient is human or some sort of highly evolved robot, that is just not how any normal psychologist acts. Also, what she’s doing is absolutely no use, I’m very sure he would have answered just as easily (if not more) if she had been gentle and open.

I love the moment where Deacon tells the truth of what happened. To me, that is one of the things that make him human. I call it the “F*CK IT!” moment. When he meets Maven’s eyes and tells her he didn’t want to have Jeff killed it’s like he’s TOTALLY defiant to her. Maven may have pwned him in panel 2 but Deacon’s just getting warmed up……..Just a thought. Please feel free to shoot it down.

I second this motion of early-posting. (It’s one in the morning where I am when you usually post, and the other people in my dorm think i’m crazy, dicking my time away surfing tumblr every tuesday and friday night waiting for the Artifice update.)

I just reread to the end of his recap here and I realized something. In panel two he’s steeling himself. He’s getting his emotions under control so he can tell her the painful part of the story. It’s like he’s scolding himself for letting her get him to open up, especially since she’s in no position to care about his “feelings”. After panel two, his tone changes back to a more mechanical report style narrative. And compared to the relatively legnthy parts where he tells her about his changing relationship with Jeff, this next part is incredibly short. I… I have done the same before. It’s kind of sad, but I relate more to computers than people in terms of feelings. Deacon is now how I was as a teen. So I recognize myself in a lot of the ways he reacts to his own therapist. He’s divorcing himself from the narrative. The next part includes him analyzing and critisizing his behavior before SHE can, so he doesn’t get hurt by harsh critisizm. And he rushes through it before any of it has a chance to register emotionally. He doesn’t stop to dwell on any of it because it hurts so much.